"Serbia preparing projects for China-CEE summit"

"Serbia preparing projects for China-CEE summit"

The Belgrade-Budapest railway and a project in Poland are the only projects under way, Nikolic said.

He added that the Belgrade-Budapest railway construction would most likely be fully agreed by the the end of the current year, stressing that the project had stemmed from Chinese President Xi Jinping's idea about a new Silk Road.

Nikolic stressed that the new Chinese project had furter strengthened relations between the two countries, adding that he and his Chinese counterpart had discussed the terms under which Serbia could participate in the investment.

Chinese companies are currently involved in negotiations for construction of three highway sections in Serbia, and a fund is being set up in China that could bring about works on the Morava river riverbed to prevent excessive flooding, which could become a major source of revenue, he said.

"I would not like us to bring to completion the infrastructure projects and then see China leave Serbia. I would like us to build factories that will connect us forever," the Serbian president said.

Nikolic, who attended a military parade in Beijing on Thursday, said that he would attend such a parade in any country that in this way wishes to symbolically demonstrate that wars, particularly those of such scale as World War II, should never happen again.

"I have attended the parades in Moscow and Beijing. I believe that, when such a tragedy as war is being marked, the participants should include those who fought on both sides," Nikolic told Xinhua.

What happened has ended 70 years ago and it should not drive a wedge between the younger generations, the president stressed.

The friendship between Serbia and China is strong, said Nikolic, noting, however, that it was not the only reason why he decided to attend the military parade in Beijing.

"I would be glad to attend such a parade in any country that in this way wishes to symbolically demonstrate that wars, particularly those of such scale as World War II, should never happen again," the president said.